


Varsity Jacket

by BooksandKpop



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Promposals, School Tradition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26790538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksandKpop/pseuds/BooksandKpop
Summary: According to the trio of friends Takahiro had managed to make, asking someone to prom wasn't a big deal unless you fell into one of the following groups; Student Council, or Sports Superstars.
Relationships: Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei
Comments: 7
Kudos: 91





	Varsity Jacket

**Author's Note:**

> Morning this was written in a collective seven hours yesterday because Hana asked and I delivered. I have no idea how high schools or proms work because we don't have them here but let's hope for the best!

It was _tradition_ they said. It was _cute_ they said. Well, Takahiro thought it was really stupid. 

He had only moved to this school a few months ago so he wasn't exactly feeling the whole "school spirit" or "pride of place" thing most of the other students had going on. Most of the time it was bearable, but with prom coming up it had gotten ridiculous.

According to the trio of friends he had managed to make, asking someone to prom wasn't a big deal unless you fell into one of the following groups; Student Council, or Sports Superstars. Some 'normal' people still did extravagant promposals but most of the time it was low key. Which was why Takahiro hadn't understood the smug look on Oikawa's face when he walked into homeroom at the end of the day wearing a varsity jacket. 

"OH MY GOD! HE DIDN'T!"

Takahiro just rolled his eyes at the outbursts from his classmates and went back to finishing his assignment for biology. He had a double class in the morning and he had no intention of doing this at home. His twin sisters were preparing for their school talent show and he had every intention of helping them until they all passed out from exhaustion later that night.

"Makki, aren't you going to ask me where I got this jacket?"

Oikawa slid into his seat to Takahiro's left looking proud as punch. So Takahiro punched him and went back to his work.

"No, you'll tell me even if I don't ask."

"I suppose you're right. Iwa-chan gave it to me at lunch!"

Of course, nothing put Oikawa in a better mood than getting attention from his long-time crush Iwaizumi "Iwa-chan" Hajime. He still didn't get why everyone was looking at his friend with such open jealousy in their eyes, but he had other things to worry about. Like drawing diagrams of the difference between monocot and dicot stem arrangement. 

The class passed without much more issue. Oikawa pouted when Takahiro purposefully ignored him and didn't ask any other questions about the jacket. He and Konoha said their goodbyes and started walking to the bus stop to go home. It was obvious Konoha wanted to say something about the jacket too, but Takahiro knew it was probably some stupid school spirit thing and he didn't have the energy to listen to it right now.

He barely made it to school on time the next day. It was well after midnight when he and his sisters were hunted to bed by their parents, and he slept through his alarm. Worst of all, he had left home without his blazer and it was freezing today, so he was going to have to suffer. 

First period was his double biology class which he thankfully had finished his assignment for. He slid into his seat just as the teacher arrived and shut the lab doors, breathing out a sigh of relief and immediately shivering with the cold. 

"You look like crap."

"Thanks asshole."

His lab partner was one Matsukawa Issei, captain of the basketball team and the only person who could match Takahiro's dry sense of humor and taste in memes. They didn't hang out outside of their shared biology and free period classes, mostly because Matsukawa was always surrounded by his team or his admirers elsewhere. But he was someone Takahiro would probably consider a friend, and he was really hot which was a major plus. 

"You look like you're going to freeze your ass off."

"What a shame that would be, you wouldn't get to stare at my gorgeous ass anymore."

Their flirting was also something Takahiro loved. It was playful and fun and made biology a lot more bearable. So he rolled his eyes at Matsukawa's wink and grabbed his books and assignment from his bag and tried to focus on the class. That lasted for all of ten minutes before he was practically curled in on himself with the cold. It was only when Takahiro felt a warm weight over his shoulders did he sit up, and realise that Matsukawa had draped his varsity jacket over him.

"What the fuck?"

"Like you said, I don't want your ass freezing off."

"Are you propositioning me?"

The jacket was like a blanket of heat and Matsukawa's smell and if Takahiro was a weaker man he would close his eyes and pretend it was an embrace. But instead he snorted at the raised eyebrow sent his way and slipped his arms through the sleeves.

"Well, thanks. I'm keeping this for the day."

"That is the point yeah."

He wanted to ask about the amused tone to Matsukawa's voice but their teacher was giving them the stink eye so he kept his mouth shut and managed to actually focus on the rest of the class now that he wasn't worried about dying of hypothermia.

When the class ended and they were packing up to leave Takahiro briefly considered giving Matsukawa his jacket back. Only briefly, because it was still freezing cold and the material was soft and warm wrapped around his torso. He didn't get to make a choice in the end. 

"I'll see you in free period later, don't lose my jacket."

With another wink and a smirk that Takahiro couldn't fully comprehend, Matsukawa headed out leaving a trail of open-mouthed students in his wake. Takahiro couldn't exactly hang around to figure out what was going on though, he had geography next period with a witch of a teacher and couldn't afford to be late. 

Every class for the rest of the morning had people whispering and pointing at Takahiro, both behind his back and openly. But he didn't have a class with any of his actual friends until after lunch, so he just kept his head down and tried to get work done. By the time he finally made it to lunch and dropped into his usual seat in the cafeteria, Takahiro was exhausted. And his headache was only about to get worse.

"MAKKI!"

There was no missing Oikawa's voice when he was speaking normally, but when he decided to raise his voice it was like he was using a megaphone. Everyone turned to look at Oikawa, and then immediately to look at Takahiro. He groaned and let his head fall against the table, narrowly missing his lunch tray. 

"And you had the audacity to ignore me yesterday?! Rude Makki!"

Konoha sat down to his left and Sugawara dragged Oikawa to sit on the other side of the table. The three of them all looked at him expectantly as if there was some big news he was supposed to share. He sat up and pulled his jacket tighter around him, and then realised exactly what everyone had been fussing about. 

"Oh, Matsukawa gave this to me in biology this morning."

"The basketball captain? I didn't know you were close to him!"

Suga had a brilliant smile on his face and Oikawa was staring at him in disbelief. It wasn't like he had purposefully hidden that fact from his friends, but it just never really came up. So he shrugged and tried to eat his sandwich in peace. That didn't work.

"No! You can eat after you explain!"

"There's nothing to explain! He's my lab partner and he gave me his jacket this morning because I was cold. I'm going to give it back to him in free period later."

Takahiro really didn't understand what the big deal was. It was just a jacket, not like it was a marriage proposal or something stupid like that. He got two bites of his sandwich before Konoha clapped a hand on his shoulder and motioned with his chin towards the window wall of the cafeteria. When he turned his head he found Matsukawa standing beside the basketball team's table, looking directly at him. Takahiro grinned and raised his middle finger. 

"Makki! What are you doing?!"

Matsukawa laughed loudly and stuck his tongue out in return, before turning away and sitting down to have his own lunch. Now Oikawa looked like he was going to actually strangle him.

"Listen Hanamaki, when a sports player gives your their jacket it means - "

"No no Suga, I think we need to let him figure it out for himself."

He gave Konoha a side eye and found a sickeningly sweet smile on his face. It meant he was trying to start trouble which Takahiro wanted no part of. So he shook his head and continued eating his lunch. The rest of their break was more like normal, but Takahiro still could hear all the whispers from students passing by their table. It sucked, but he wasn't about to ask his friends what the deal was now. He could just ask Matsukawa later when he returned the jacket. 

No one actually approached him about the jacket until second last period, preferring to just stare and whisper. But just as their English class was about to begin his seat mate leaned in conspiratorially and nudged him with her elbow.

"Have you been wearing that jacket all day?"

"Yeah, I got it in first period."

Yamaka Mika was the secretary for student council and a pretty straightforward person. She shot him a megawatt smile and then turned to face the front and focus on their lesson. Takahiro was getting rather sick of not understanding what was going on, but at least he only had to sit through this class until he would see Matsukawa again. Then he would be demanding answers. 

The weaker part of his brain wanted to beg to keep the jacket too. It had kept him perfectly warm and comfortable for the whole day, the material was soft enough that he could nap on his forerms during art history, and the lingering smell of Matsukawa's cologne in the collar was a nice bonus. As he zoned out during the class he kind of understood why people were whispering about him all day. It was a very couple thing to do, to wear someone else's clothes like a brand. But Matsukawa just gave him the jacket so he wouldn't die of the cold. Why did everyone make such a big deal that Matsukawa was a sports captain anyway? 

The bell rang to signal end of the class and it made Takahiro jump. Beside him Yamaka giggled into her hand when he realised he had been unconsciously nuzzling the sleeve of the jacket. He definitely needed to return it to Matsukawa next class. As he was leaving the teacher asked him to hang back for a moment. Takeda-sensei was pretty chill and a good teacher, Takahiro felt a little bad for not paying attention in class.

"Yes sensei?"

"Oh, I just wanted to offer my congratulations."

He gestured vaguely to the jacket that was obviously not Takahiro's. Matsukawa wasn't that much taller than him, but he was far broader and had long arms suited for basketball. So the jacket hung loosely around Takahiro's shoulders and the sleeves fell down across his fingertips. He found himself blushing at the insinuation, even though nothing had happened between him and Matsukawa. So he mumbled a flustered thanks and hurried out of the room. Only a few minutes until he would be free from the weirdness of today. 

Matsukawa was already sitting in his place in the back corner of the room, head resting in one hand and looking out the window. Takahiro usually sat in the middle of the room, but to his confusion there was someone in his seat. As he stepped further down the classroom suddenly whispers broke out like buzzing bees, and Matsukawa turned his head to spot Takahiro. A lazy smile crossed his face and he used his now free hand to gesture to the empty seat beside him. Takahiro wanted to refused but their supervising teacher came in a moment later and told him to sit down. He once again didn't have a choice. 

Usually, Takahiro loved free period. It was an opportunity to nap or do some doodle sketches in his notepad without judgement. But now he was seated next to Matsukawa, wearing his varsity jacket and the hum of people talking under their breath was obviously about the two of them. Takahiro spun on his chair ready to address the problem head on but froze when he caught the way Matsukawa was looking at him. It made a blush rise to his cheeks and travel all the way down his neck, underneath the collar of the stupid jacket that was the cause of all this trouble. 

"So, you kept it on all day."

"Well - I mean yeah, it's freezing in this stupid school."

He cursed himself for stuttering over nothing. There was really no reason to get so bothered by the deeply piercing gaze that Matsukawa was watching him with. After all, they flirted for fun all the time. But yet something nagged at him from the back of his head to say this was more than just wearing a jacket. 

"Everyone has been staring and whispering about me all day you know."

Matsukawa had the audacity to laugh at him. As if it wasn't all his fault! Well no, that wasn't true. It was Takahiro's fault for sleeping through his alarm, and Matsukawa giving him his jacket was probably the only reason he was still functioning at the end of today. But it felt good to blame him for something. 

"I heard from one of my team members that none of your friends knew we know each other."

"Well it's not like I go around announcing to everyone that we're lab partners. You're not that special superstar."

His own words echoed in his ears and pieces began to fall into place rapidly. Suga telling him at the beginning of the month that it was time for promposals to start happening left right and centre. Konoha mocking how Student Council and sport MVP's had traditions they had to follow to ask people to prom. Oikawa walking into homeroom with his smug grin wearing Iwaizumi, captain of the swim team's jacket The whispers from students and dropped jaws and shock from his friends - was this Matsukawa's way of asking him to prom?

"You ok there? It looks like your brain had a meltdown."

"Did you ask me to prom by giving me your jacket?"

He had wanted to sound indifferent or maybe even a little annoyed. Instead, Takahiro's voice came out uncertain and shy. Whatever it sounded like, a range of emotions flitted across Matsukawa's face in rapid succession before settling on disappointed.

"I mean, yes? I'm the basketball captain so, you know. Tradition and all that -"

His voice trailed off as he rubbed the back of his neck. Takahiro was glad they were in the back corner of the classroom and everyone else seemed to be facing the front because his face was probably an unsightly red colour right now. The way Matsukawa's eyes were darting from the floor to his hands to Takahiro's face and back again was also pretty obvious.

"You know I still don't have a fucking clue about the traditions here right?"

"Right, yeah. So, uh, basically it's tradition for sports captains to ask their date to prom by giving them their jacket. And they accept by wearing it for the rest of the day."

Well, Takahiro had certainly gotten his answer for why everyone was being so weird today. He just hadn't been expecting that one. Of all the people he could have chosen, why would Matsukawa ask him to prom? They didn't even know each other that well, and he had seen some of the people who followed the basketball team around that were absolutely gorgeous. So then - 

"Why me?"

Once again his voice didn't come out the way he wanted it to. Even to his own ears Hanamaki sounded a little broken and upset. He hated it. But it made Matsukawa shoot up in his seat and meet his eyes again, wide and confused.

"Wh - what do you mean by that? I really like you. Unless, you didn't pick up on me flirting with you all year?"

Now it was Matsukawa who sounded uncertain and Takahiro hated that it was his fault. Because of course he had picked up on the flirting, he had been flirting back with equal enthusiasm. Matsukawa was attractive and funny and intelligent and must be a pretty good basketball player and leader if he was captain. Of course Takahiro liked him too, but it still didn't make sense. 

"Listen, Hanamaki, I'm sorry for assuming you knew what wearing my jacket meant. I was going to offer it to you today anyway, even before you came in looking like a frozen zombie."

There's that hint of teasing back, that playful banter that they are both comfortable and well versed in. It makes Takahiro calm just enough to meet Matsukawa's gaze with confidence. He liked him, lazy smile and thick eyebrows and horrible taste in memes all included. So Takahiro reached for the zip on the jacket and pulled it closed, sealing himself into the warmth of the fabric. 

"If you really want me to go to prom with you, you'll have to ask like a normal person."

Because he wants to be sure. He wants to hear the words spoken clearly so there was no mistake or assuming that this was what Matsukawa wanted. But the words seemed to completely change the atmosphere between them, the momentary awkwardness gone and replaced with Matsukawa's bright eyes watching him as a grin tugged at the corner of his lips.

"How about I give you a lift home after class, and I'll get back to you with the proposal you deserve tomorrow."

Takahiro let his own smile creep up and reveal a flash of white teeth. He hummed his agreement and spun back around in his chair, popping the collar up fully and burying his fingers in the long sleeves. The pained sound coming from the basketball captain was far from subtle, and Takahiro hid his joy in the soft fabric of Matsukawa's variety jacket. 

Maybe some of the traditions here were kind of cute, but Takahiro preferred the bouquet of flowers and meme inspired poster he got the following day much more. 


End file.
